Engaging Men and Boys in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

For more than two decades, sexual and reproductive health issues have made up 14 percent of the global burden of disease. The inability to meet individuals’ basic sexual and reproductive health needs—such as access to contraception and to sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment—poses a critical threat to the well-being of people worldwide. So say Tim Shand, Annaick Miller, and Christopher Hook, authors of “Getting to Equal,” a new report by Promundo-US, the international gender equality organization based in Washington, DC.

Around the world, cis women, nonbinary, and transgender people continue to face gendered restrictions and rollbacks to their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and globally, cis men are not acting as full partners in family planning or maternal, newborn, and child health, the authors say.

Health frameworks to date have failed to adequately address the ways in which inequitable gender dynamics and masculinities play a role in perpetuating poor health outcomes, as well as negatively impacting the health and rights of all individuals. There is growing support to change this, the authors say, pointing to a 2018 Guttmacher-Lancet Commission report’s call for increased attention to relational approaches and masculine norms in efforts to advance SRHR. Promundo and Family Planning 2020—with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—recently convened a technical consultation with representatives from more than 30 organizations to complete a list of guiding principles and recommendations for advancing the involvement of men and boys as clients, partners, and SRHR advocates. The 10 priority areas for action are:

Expand the range of contraceptive options available to men and their partners.

Increase men’s support for their partners’ SRHR and method use.

Promote men’s role as supportive partners and advocates for women’s access to safe abortion services, always respecting a woman’s right to choose.

Increase men’s access to and use of HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support.

Improve men’s uptake of STI diagnosis and treatment.

Engage men in maternal, newborn, and child health.

Better address men’s specific sexual and reproductive concerns, including dysfunction and infertility, by improving the structure of health services.

Develop men’s capacity as advocates and change agents for SRHR.

Authors Shand, Miller, and Hook say it is high time to take action in shifting masculine norms to improve sexual and reproductive health around the world.

To learn more, read the full report, “Getting to Equal: Engaging Men and Boys in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Gender Equality,” on Promundoglobal.org. It provides additional recommendations for action policymakers, donors, implementers, and activists can take.

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Fall 2018

#MeToo Means Asking the Hard QuestionsRob OkunIt’s clear that profeminist men—indeed, all men—must not stay silent in the wake of #MeToo. But where should our voices be heard? What should we say? And, even if we know, are we ready to speak?

Will Toxic Masculinity Lead to Men’s Liberation?Michael FloodThe term “toxic masculinity” is likely to be part of popular and media discussions of men and gender for a while to come. To that end, let’s make sure that it is used in ways that advance understanding and contribute to progress toward gender justice.